BAOFENG GT-18 FRS PMR Radio User Manual

August 26, 2024
BAOFENG

GT-18 FRS PMR Radio

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Product Information

Specifications:

  • Brand: BAOFNEG
  • Model: GT-18
  • Compliance: FCC PART 15, IC
  • Operation: Hand-Held and Body-Worn
  • Battery: Rechargeable

Product Usage Instructions

Hand-Held Operation:

For hand-held operation, ensure the radio is held 1 inch away
from your face to comply with FCC RF exposure requirements.

Body-Worn Operation:

When using the supplied belt-clip accessory for body-worn
operation, ensure all accessories are provided in the package.
Avoid third-party accessories unless approved by the manufacturer
to comply with FCC guidelines.

Battery Precautions:

  • Avoid charging in hazardous locations.
  • Do not charge wet, damaged, or overheated batteries.
  • Use only authorized chargers and avoid overcharging.
  • Follow maintenance instructions to prolong battery life.

Transportation Instructions:

  • Do not transport damaged batteries.
  • Avoid short circuits by separating batteries from metal parts
    or each other during transportation.

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

Q: Can I use the radio with a damaged antenna?

A: It is not recommended to use the radio with a damaged antenna
as it may cause a minor burn if it comes into contact with the
skin. Please contact your local dealer for a replacement
antenna.

Q: What should I do if my battery is wet?

A: Do not charge a wet battery. Dry it with a soft and clean
cloth before charging to avoid any safety hazards.

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BAOFNEG GT-18 Manual

ATTENTION
BAOFENG GT-18 is a multitask FRS transceiver. Combining the latest technology in radio communication along with a sturdy mechanical frame, GT-18 is the ideal and effective solution for the professionals who need to stay in touch with the working team (in construction sites, buildings, shows, trade fairs or hotels) or for leisure users that just want to keep up with friends and family. To help you ward off bodily injury or property loss that may arise from improper operation, please read all the information carefully before using our products.
FCC RF EXPOSURE
WARNING! It is up to the user to properly operate this radio transmitter to insure safe operation. Please adhere
to the following: Do not use the radio with a damaged antenna. If a damaged antenna comes into contact with the skin, a minor burn may result. Please contact your local dealer for a replacement antenna.
Hand-Held Operation (Held-to-Face)
This device was evaluated for typical hand-held (held-to-face) operations with a 1 inch spacing from the front of the radio. For hand-held operation, the radio should be held 1 inch from the user’s face in order to comply with FCC RF exposure requirements.
Body-Worn Operation
This device was evaluated for body-worn operations with the supplied belt-clip accessory. (All necessary accessories are included in the package; any additional or optional accessories are not required for compliance with the guidelines.) Third party accessories (unless approved by the manufacturer) should be avoided as these might not comply with FCC RF exposure guidelines.
FCC PART15 /IC COMPLIANCE
FCC PART 15 COMPLIANCE
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC rules. Operation is subjected to the following two conditions: (1) this device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.
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Changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void your authority to operate the equipment.
PRECAUTIONS FOR BATTERIES
Charging Prohibitions
To protect you against any property loss, bodily injury or even death, be sure to observe the following safety instructions: 1. Do not charge or replace your battery in a location containing fuels, chemicals, explosive atmospheres and
other flammable or explosive materials. 2. Do not charge your battery that is wet. Please dry it with a soft and clean cloth prior to charge. 3. Do not charge your battery suffering deformation, leakage and overheat. 4. Do not charge your battery with an unauthorized charger. 5. Do not charge your battery in a location where strong radiation is present. 6. Overcharge shall always be prohibited for it may shorten the life of your battery.
Maintenance Instructions
To help your battery work normally or prolong its life, be sure to observe the following instructions: 1. Accumulated dust on charging connector may affect normal charging. Please use a clean and dry cloth to wipe
it on a regular basis. 2. It is recommended to charge the battery under 5~40. Violation of the said limit may cause battery life
reduction or even battery leakage. 3. To charge a battery attached to the product, turn it off to ensure a full charge. 4. Do not remove the battery or unplug the power cord during charging to ensure a smooth charging process. 5. Do not dispose of the battery in fire. 6. Do not expose the battery to direct sunlight for a long time nor place it close to other heating sources. 7. Do not squeeze and penetrate the battery, nor remove its housing.
Transportation Instructions
1. Damaged batteries must not be transported. 2. To avoid short circuit, separate the battery from metal pars or from each other if two or more batteries are
transported in one packaging. 3. The radio must be switched off and secured against switch-on, if the battery is attached. The content of the shipment must be declared in the shipping documents and by a Battery Shipping Label on the
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packaging. Contact your hauler for the local regulations and further information.
Precautions for Disposal
Once the service life of our products (including but not limited to radios and batteries) has endedthey shall not be disposed as household garbage. Their recycling and disposal shall satisfy your local regulations.
MAINTENANCE
To be safe and sure: · Never open your radio’s case. · Never change or replace anything in your radio except the batteries.
Care and Safety
Your GT-18 was designed to fulfill any warranty obligations and to enjoy this product for many years. As for all the electronically devices, we recommend you to follow this few suggestions: · Do not attempt to open the unit. Non- expert handling of the unit may damage it and/or annul the warranty. · When using regulated power supply, take notice of power voltage that must be 5V to avoid damages. · High temperatures can shorten the life of electronic devices, and warp or melt certain plastics. Do not store the
radio in dusty or dirty areas. · Keep the Radio dry. Rainwater or damp will corrode electronic circuits. · If it appears that the Radio diffuses peculiar smell or smoke, please shut off its power immediately and take off
the charger or battery from the Radio. · Do not transmit without antenna. · To clean the radio, use a soft cloth dampened with water. Do not use cleaners or solvents because they can harm
the body of the unit and leak inside, causing permanent damage. · Use a dry, lint-free cloth to clean the battery contacts.
Hazardous Environments
Do not operate the radio in hazardous environments. Explosion or fire may result. Do not operate the radio near unshielded electrical blasting caps. Under certain conditions, radios can interfere with blasting operations and may cause an explosion. Turn your radio OFF to prevent accidental transmission when in a blasting area or in areas posted: “Turn off two-way radio.” Construction crews often use remote control RF devices to set off explosives.
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WARNING! Read this information before using the radio. In August 1996 the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) of the United States with its action in Report and Order FCC 96-326 adopted an updated safety standard for human exposure to radio frequency electromagnetic energy emitted by FCC regulated transmitters. Those guidelines are consistent with the safety standard previously set by both U.S. and international standards bodies. The design of the radio complies with the FCC guidelines and these international standards. Never allow children to operate the radio without adult supervision and the knowledge of the following guidelines.

MAIN FEATURES

· FRS transceiver (No license required) ·22 Modifiable FRS two-way channels · Channel spacing: 12.5 KHz · Vocal tuning · Battery low alert · LED flashlight · 260 Sub-codes (50 CTCSS Codes & 210 DCS codes) · Micro USB connector for charging
conditions)

· Output power: max 2W · Channel monitor · Channel scan · Battery save · TOT (Time out timer) · 2pin Kenwood accessory jack · Li-Ion 1500mAh battery pack · Battery Life: up to 18 hours (under typical use

Programming software

Thanks to BAOFENG Programming software CPS-GT-18-FRS, it is possible to increase the performance of your radio or to reduce its functionality by disabling some of the default features (CTCSS, DCS, TOT, VOX…) For further information, please consult the Programming software manual. Any attempt to change frequencies or output power of the radio invalidates the approval.

BATTERY RECHAGRE

GT-18 is equipped for using a 3,7V Li-ion rechargeable battery pack which can be recharged by connecting the USB cable to the radio and to a USB-charger (5V-1A). It takes 5 hours to fully recharge the radio. For maximum battery life, we recommend charging the battery pack when the BF-GT-18 is off and the battery pack is fully discharged. The Battery power saving feature enables a reduction in consumption of up to 50%. If it has been set, it automatically activates when the transceiver does not receive any signal for more than 5 seconds in order to save

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the battery life. The Power saving function is activated by default and can be modified only by soft-ware.
Note: Using a different battery charger other than the one specified can cause damage to your device or may
even cause explosions and personal injuries.
GETTING ACQUAINTED

1. External Speaker/Microphone Jack 4. UP key 7. Microphones 10.PTT Key 13. DCS enabled 16. Keypad lock enabled 19. Transmit power indicator
OPERATIONS

2. PTT key 5. Led indicator: RED: TX; GREEN: RX. 8.Monitor key 11. Battery level indicator 14. VOX enabled 17. Transmit Status 20.LED Flashlight

3. Antenna 6. DOWN key 9.LAMP key 12. CTCSS enabled 15. Channel (1-22) 18. Receive Status

Power on/off and volume adjustment 5

Rotate the Power/Volume knob clockwise to turn the radio on. Rotate the control clockwise /counter-clockwise to adjust the volume level as you prefer. To turn the radio off, rotate the control counter-clockwise till hearing a mechanical “click”.
Channel selection
In standby mode, directly press the UP / DOWN key to step down or down to select the channel. Press and hold the UP / DOWN key to quickly switch channels down or up. The corresponding channel is displayed digitally. When the voice prompt function is turned on, the corresponding channel is broadcast by voice.
Transmission
To communicate, all radios in your group must be set to the same channel. Briefly press the MONI key to enable the Monitor feature in order to make sure that the frequency is not busy, and then press the [PTT] key. Release the [PTT] key to receive. Only one user at a time can talk during radio communications. Therefore, it is important not to transmit when you are receiving a communication and use the transmission mode sparingly to allow other users to talk. Transmission consumes a significant amount of energy and should therefore be used sparingly to prolong the battery life. If you are unable to contact a station that you have no problems in receiving, the station may be using CTCSS tones or DCS codes.
Monitor
The Monitor feature is for excluding (opening) the Squelch, in order to listen to signals that are too weak to keep the Squelch permanently opened. Hold down the MONI key to enable such function.
Scan
This function can only be activated by programming software. To enable the scan function, all 22 channels must be programmed. When the radio is turned on, press and hold the and keys at the same time, and scanning will start automatically. Whenever any signal is detected, the scan stops on a busy channel. If you press and hold PTT, you will send on the latest busy channel. Press any function key to exit the scanning state.
Flashlight
With GT-18 turned on, shortly press the LAMP to turn on/off the flashlight at the top side of the radio.
VOX
The VOX feature enables hands free conversations without using PTT: just speak in the direction of the microphone
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and the communication will be automatically activated. The VOX sensitivity can be adjusted in 5 different levels (1…5) through the programming software: Level 2 is set by default and has the lowest VOX sensitivity, 5 is the lowest one. With the programming software you can enable/disable the VOX feature and select the sensitivity levels. CPS programming path: Edit > VOX > VOX Level
Squelch
The Squelch function suppresses noises on free channels and allows receiving even weak signals. GT-18 has 10 different Squelch levels that can be set by programming software: 0 means that the Squelch is turned off; from level 1 to level 9 you will have different levels of noise reduction. The higher is the level, the louder will be the Squelch. By default, the Squelch level of GT-18 is set on level 4. Make sure you do not set an excessively high squelch level because in this case you may not be able to receive weaker signals. On the other hand an excessively low Squelch value could enable the Squelch even when no signals are present. Squelch must always be adjusted when no signals are present. The Time Out timer is settable from 30 sec to 270 sec. only through the programming software. This feature is disabled by default.
CTCSS/DCS tones
CTCSS and DCS tones are similar to access codes and enable the radio to communicate only with the users that are tuned on the same channel and have set the same code. For each channel, you can set up to 50 CTCSS tones and 210 DCS codes. The CTCSS/DCS tones are a sort of “access codes” and enable the radio to communicate only with the other users set on the same frequency and on the same CTCSS/DCS tone. Undesired signals coming from other stations set on the same frequency but with different CTCSS/DCS tones won’t be received.
NOAA Weather Radio
Your radio can receive weather broadcasts from the NOAA National Weather Service. While using the Weather Radio, you are not able to receive FRS communications. 1>To turn on the Weather Radio Broadcast mode, press MONI . 2> Press / to select the desired number of weather channels. 3> To exit the Weather Radio Broadcast mode, press MONI . NOTE: There are 10 NOAA channel frequencies available and these frequencies are common between the US and Canada. You need to know what frequency is being transmitted in your location.
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NOAA Weather Radio Frequency List: Chan.
WEATHER 1 WEATHER 2 WEATHER 3 WEATHER 4 WEATHER 5

Freq. (MHz) 162.550 162.400 162.475 162.425 162.450

Chan.
WEATHER 6 WEATHER 7 WEATHER 8 WEATHER 9 WEATHER10

Appendix A. ­ FRS Channels and Frequencies

CH.No

CH.Freq.(MHz)

CH.No

1

462.5625

12

2

462.5875

13

3

462.6125

14

4

462.6375

15

5

462.6625

16

6

462.6875

17

7

462.7125

18

8

467.5625

19

9

467.5875

20

10

467.6125

21

11

467.6375

22

Freq. (MHz) 162.500 162.525 161.650 161.775 161.750
CH.Freq. (MHz) 467.6625 467.6875 467.7125 462.5500 462.5750 462.6000 462.6250 462.6500 462.6750 462.7000 462.7250

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Appendix B. ­ Technical Specifications

General Part

Frequency Range

FRS

Working temperature

0 to +40

Operation Voltage

DC 3.7 V ±10%

Operation Mode

Simplex

Dimensions

147mm×57mm×25.5mm (with Antenna)

Weight

133g (Battery pack included)

Antenna Impedance

50ohm

Duty cycle

5/5/90%

Transmitter Part

RF Output Power

2W (FRS)

FM Modulation

11K0F3E@12.5KHz

Adjacent Channel Power

60dB @ 12.5KHz

Transmission current

1000mA

Receiver Part

Receive Sensitivity

0.25V (12dB SINAD)

Adjacent Channel Selectivity Inter Modulation and Rejection

55dB@12.5KHz 55dB@12.5KHz

Conducted Spurious Emission

-57dB@12.5KHz

Rated Audio Power Output

1W @8 ohms

Rated Audio Distortion

5%

NOTE: All specifications may be modified without prior notice or liability.

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Appendix C. ­ Trouble shooting guide

Phenomena
You cannot turn on the radio.
During receiving, the voice is weak or intermittent.
You cannot communicate with other group members.
You hear unknown voices or noise.
You are unable to hear anyone because of too much noise and hiss.
The radio keeps transmitting.

Analysis
The battery may be installed improperly. The battery power may run out. The battery may suffer from poor contact caused by dirty or damaged battery contacts. The battery voltage maybe low. The volume level may be low. The antenna maybe loose or maybe installed incorrectly. The speaker maybe blocked. The frequency or signaling type maybe inconsistent with that of other members. You may be too far away from other members. You may be interrupted by radios using the same frequency. The radio in analog mode maybe set with no signaling.
You may be too far away from other members. You may be in an unfavorable position. For example, your communication may be blocked by high buildings or blocked in an underground area. It may be the result of external disturbance (such as electromagnetic interference). VOX may be turned on or the headset is not installed in place

Solution
Remove and reattach the battery. Recharge or replace the battery. Clean the battery contacts or replace the battery. Recharge or replace the battery. Increase the volume. Turnoff the radio, and then remove and reattach the antenna. Clean the surface of the speaker. Verify that your TX/RX frequency and signaling type are correct. Move towards other members. Change the frequency, or adjust the squelch level. Request your dealer to set signaling for the current channel to avoid interference Move towards other members. Move to an open and flat area, restart the radio, and try again.
Stay away from equipment that may cause interference. Turn off the VOX function. Check that the headphones are in place.

NOTE: If the above solutions cannot fix your problems, or you may have some other queries, please contact

your dealer for more technical support.

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Disclaimer
The accuracy and completeness of the contents are sought in the process of compilation, but we do not bear any responsibility for the possible errors or omissions. With the continuous development of technology, we reserve the right to change the design and specification of the product without notice. No copy, modification, translation and dissemination of this handbook may be made in any form without the prior written authorization of our department.

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